Ring binder



M. VERNON RING BINDER Oct. 8, 1968 Original Filed Nov. 30, 1965 IN VENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,404,685 RING BINDER Murray Vernon, New York, N.Y., assignor to S. E. & M.

ernon, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New ork Continuation of application Ser. No. 510,616, Nov. 30,

1965. This application Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,736

1 Claim. (Cl. 129-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lo-oseleaf binder of the ring type wherein a plurality of rings, split at their midpoints, move in a snap action between closed and open position, The ring segments on one side are attached to an elongated rod, and the ring segments on the other side are attached to a second rod spaced from and parallel to the first rod, the inner ends of the segments being engaged for relative hinging movement. The rods are housed by a casing of resilient or spring-like material which provides a spring bias to hold the segments in their respective open and closed positions. A simplified and improved lever, in engagement with the inner ends of at least one pair of segments, moves the set of rings between said open and closed positions.

This application is a continuation of my application Ser. No. 510,616, filed Nov. 30, 1965, now abandoned.

In many binders of this type, the rings can be opened by pressure exerted on a lever or finger piece that is pro vided at one end of the binder. Such a lever or finger piece and its associated parts are so arranged that the lever is effective by its movement to only open or separate the ring segments. Thus, the closing movement of the ring segments requires the imposition of finger pressure directly upon the ring segments. This not only requires the utilization of rather substantial finger pressure on the ring segments, but it also places the fingers in a position where, upon the sudden closure of the rings, the fingers might be pinched between the ring segments.

It is therefore desirable that a binder be provided in which the opening and closing of the ring segments be effected by means located remotely from the rings and by a means which can effect both the opening and closing movements of the ring segments by easily imposed finger pressure.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved ring-operating means meeting the above requirements and to provide a means of this character which will be of sturdy construction and unfailing operation and which will thus enhance the value of a binder of this kind.

More particularly, the ring binder contemplates the provision of a housing or casing extending spine-like on the inside of the back of the cover and containing a pair of separate, rotatably mounted, parallel rods to which transversely-extending ring segments are attached, said ring segments having their inner ends disposed in overlapped relation within the casing in a manner well known in the art and as exemplified by US. Patents 2,088,431, 1,900,334 and 2,435,848. A lever is mounted for pivotal movement in the casing and said lever has a finger formed with a hooked end which embraces the overlapped ends of the ring segments, so that when the lever is rocked in one direction it will exert a lifting force on the ends of the ring segments, causing them to open or separate. When the lever is moved in the opposite direction it will exert a pulling force on the ring segments, bringing them together or into closed position. The lever is formed with a finger piece conveniently located on the outside of the casing at one end thereof, or two of the levers, located respectively at the opposite ends of the casing can be employed.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

FIG. 1 is a face view of a portion of a loose-leaf or ring binder, showing the improved ring-opening and closmg means;

FIG. 2 is a rear View of the ring-opening and closing means;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the ring-actuating lever or finger piece;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the lever or finger piece.

Referring to the drawing and particularly of FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown therein portions of a loose-leaf or ring binder of generally conventional form. The same is provided with covers indicated respectively at 1 and 2 and which are hingedly connected to a back 3.

Secured to the inside face of the back 3 of the binder by spaced tubular rivets 5 is an elongated casing or housing 4, constituting a spine for the back, said casing being provided with the leaf-receiving rings and containing the means for effecting the opening and closing movements of the segments of the rings.

The casing or housing 4 has end walls 6 and side flanges 7, the latter being inturned at intervals as indicated at 8, to thereby confine a pair of spaced parallel rods 9 and 10 within the casing. Said rods, while being confined within the casing by the flange parts 8, can have a rocking or rotative movement about their longitudinal axes. Each of the rings of the binder consists of two cooperating halves or segments 11, 12 which segments are respectively welded near one end, to the rods 9 and 10. The segments enter into the casing through slots 21a provided therein. Each of the ring segments indicated at 11 is attached to the rod 10, while each of the segments 12 is attached to the rod 9. Thus, when the segments are moved to or from one another by one or more operating levers to be described, the rods 9 and 10 will be rotated and the ring segments will :be either separated or brought together to the closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, according to the direction of movement of the lever or levers.

At their inner ends, within the casing 4, the ring segments 11 and 12 are flattened as shown at 13, 14, said flattened portions being disposed in overlapped relation and substantially at the longitudinal center line of the casing in a manner well known to those skilled in the art (US. Patent 2,435,848) and which structure is not a part of my novel inventive concept.

The operating lever or finger piece for effecting the opening and closing movements of the ring segments is indicated at 15. The same consists of a plate provided at one end with a finger having a hook-shaped end 16 and an upturned finger-engaging tab 17 at the opposite end. The lever 15 is formed with a central hole 18 through which the rivet 5 passes. The hole 18 is made sufficiently large to allow a rocking or pivotal movement of the lever on the rivet under finger manipulation. The finger-engaging tab portion 17 extends through an aperture 20 in the casing 4 at one end of the same so that such tab portion is accessible on the outside of the casing for finger engagement.

Extending laterally from the opposite sides of the lever 15 are lugs 21 which rest against and rock upon the rods 9 and 10 when the lever 15 is manipulated to rock the lever in the direction required to bring the ring segments together.

The lever and its associated elements need be provided at only one end of the casing 4 or it can be provided at both ends if desired and as shown in FIG. 1.

From the foregoing, the structure and Operation of the ring-operating means will be readily apparent. In FIG. 3 the parts of the device are shown in the positions in which they occupy while the segments of the ring are together or in closed position to form a closed ring. When it is desired to separate or open the ring segments, finger pressure is imposed on the tab portion 17 of one or the other, or both of the levers 15, thus rocking or pivoting the same in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the bent portion of the lever adjacent the rivet 5, through which the rivet extends, fulcruming on the surface of the back 3. Since the overlapped and flattened ends 13, 14 of the ring segments situated adjacent to the lever or levers 15 are confined in the hook portion 16 of the lever, as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hooked end 16 of the lever when raised by the lever, will cause rods 9 and to be rotated and the ring segments to be swung apart to bring them to a separated or open position, the rods 9 and 10 rotatively moving to permit the opening movement of the ring segments. The pages or leaves of the binder can then be inserted or removed from the binder in the usual way.

To bring the ring segments together into closed relationship merely requires inward push upon one of the levers, or on both, and in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, whereupon the hooked end 16 of the lever or levers will draw down upon the overlapped ends of the ring segments, swinging the segments toward one another to bring them into abutting or closed position.

The construction is thus one in which the ring segments are opened or closed solely by the force imposed on them by one or both of the levers 15, so that the opening or closing of the rings is greatly facilitated and the possibility of finger-pinching sometimes caused by the neces- 4 sity for closing the ring segments by direct finger pressure, is avoided.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A binder having a back; an elongated casing mounted on the inside of the back; ring segments having overlapped ends located within the casing; parallel rods rotatively mounted in the casing; the ring segments being attached to the rods to cause rotative movement of the same when the segments are moved apart or are brought together; a lever pivotally mounted in the casing; said lever having an opening therein loosely fitting on the shank of a rivet which projects inwardly of said casing, and a pair of laterally projecting lugs each of which fulcrums directly on a portion of one of said rods as the outer end of said lever is moved in a direction away from said back; the lever adjacent said rivet having a bent tulcrum forming portion; the inner end of said lever having a hooked portion embracing the overlapped ends of a air of said ring segments both above and below said ends; whereby upon movement of the lever in a direction toward said back, said lever fulcrums on said bent portion and said ring segments are caused to move apart, and upon movement of said lever in a direction away from said back, said lever fulcrums on said lugs and said ring segments are caused to be brought together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,421,126 6/1922 Bystrom 129-24 1,876,569 9/1932 Carpenter 129-24 1,900,334 3/1933 Dawson 129-24 1,997,447 4/1935 Birbaum 129-24 2,088,431 7/1937 Newman 129-24 2,242,035 5/1941 Koelling 129-24 2,435,848 2/1948 Schade 129-24 SCHNALL, Primary Examiner 

